Top Resources for Developing a 21st-Century Skills Curriculum

Introduction

In my previous post, My Teacher is a Robot, I cited a report which found that only 15% of the jobs Generation Z (Gen Z) and Alpha will be entering into, exist today, which also means that 85% of those jobs have yet to be invented! (Dell Technologies, 2017)

The future workforce that Gen Z and Alpha will be entering into is one that will be powered by technology, yet in most countries, technical courses aren’t formally taught at least until middle school. In order to close the 21st-century skills gap and prepare students earlier for a digital future, exposure to digital/technical subjects and 21st-century skills should and can happen sooner, even as early as kindergarten level.

In this post, I’d like to explore what platforms and courses there are in the market that can help educators facilitate STEM learning and 21st-century skills acquisition for kindergarten and primary school students.

The Four Pillars of Learning

If we want to close the 21st-century skills (21CS) gap, we ought to start by first identifying the 21st-century skills that can help us achieve this. Delors et al. (1996) proposes a new vision of learning and introduces us to the “four pillars of learning” in his report to UNESCO which includes  “learning to know”, “learning to do”, “learning to be”, and “learning to live together”. These four pillars of learning are set within the backdrop of the lifelong learning paradigm and include the following:

• Learning to know – This pillar covers the important skill of meta-learning, which is essentially ‘learning to learn’ (Delors et al., 1996). It involves learning new skills or adapting to new environments quickly.
• Learning to do – This pillar covers the vocational skills necessary to carry out a job (Delors et al., 1996). Digital competence has been identified as a key skill under this pillar, along with problem-solving abilities, communication, teamwork, and innovation (Huong & Au, 2020).
• Learning to be – This pillar emphasizes the “development of the human potential to its fullest” (Delors et al., 1996). Socio-emotional skills have been identified to cover elements of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (Huong & Au, 2020).
• Learning to live together – “The need to develop an understanding of others, of their history, their traditions, and their spirituality” (Delors et al., 1996).

Huong & Au (2020) also identified resilience and flexibility as a necessary skill for 21st century success. However, these skills have yet to be integrated into the 21CS framework.

21st-Century Skills Curriculum

From these findings, it appears that closing the skills gap and preparing Gen Z and Gen Alpha for the future workforce requires more than just equipping them with the vocational skills to fill future job shortages. There is also a great need to develop “life skills” like social-emotional skills, resilience, and flexibility, among others. For ease of categorization, I will break down my findings into 2 main categories – vocational skills and life skills.

Vocational Skills

1. Arduino https://www.arduino.cc/
   Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards can be programmed using the Arduino programming language and the Arduino Software.
    
2. Lego Education https://education.lego.com/
   Lego Education offers personalized learning programs featuring hands-on, project-based STEAM activities. Depending on the student’s age range, Lego Education has designed an age-appropriate curriculum to inspire interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) and to encourage students to think creatively, reason systematically, and release their potential to shape their own future. Programs are
   targeted at preschool, elementary, and middle school.
    
3. micro:bit https://scratch.mit.edu/microbit
   micro:bit is a tiny circuit board designed to help kids learn to code and create with technology. It has many features including an LED display, buttons, and a motion sensor. micro:bit comes to life when connected to Scratch and can be used to build creative projects connecting digital and physical worlds.
    
4. MIT RAISE https://raise.mit.edu/
   RAISE is an acronym for Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education. A new initiative by MIT, RAISE aims to innovate learning and education in the era of AI. The Daily-AI Workshop
   features hands-on and computer-based activities on AI concepts, ethical issues in AI, creative expression using AI, and how AI relates to your future. You will experience training and using machine learning to make predictions, investigate bias in machine learning applications, use generative adversarial networks to create novel works of art, and learn to recognize the AI you interact with daily and in the world around you.
    
5. MIT Full STEAM Ahead https://fullsteam.mit.edu/
   MIT Full STEAM Ahead is a collection of resources compiled for teaching and learning online as a rapid response to the COVID-10 pandemic.
    
6. Raspberry Pi https://www.raspberrypi.org/
   Raspberry Pi is a tiny and affordable computer that you can use to learn programming through fun, practical projects. This credit-card-sized computer plugs into a computer monitor or TV and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. There are many guided coding projects available on their website and students can program the computers using programming languages like Scratch and Python.
    
7. Scratch https://scratch.mit.edu/
   Scratch is a block-based visual programming language and educational tool for students 8-16. Students can create projects on the web using a block-like interface.
   
   
8. UBTECH Education http://www.ubtechedu.com/
   UBTECH offers a complete AI Robotics curriculum for primary school to university level. The program covers curriculum, teaching aids & robots, teacher training and certifications, assistance with designing an integrated environment for AI teaching as well as AI and robotics competitions.
    
9. VEX Robotics https://kb.vex.com/
   VEX Robotics offers STEM solutions for schools with curriculum starting from kindergarten grades. Students start off with intuitive tool-less systems and eventually move up to learning to build robots and more advanced metal robots.

Life Skills

1. Empatico https://empatico.org/
   Empatico is a free SEL tool for students 6-11 years old. This tool helps educators create virtual connections by connecting their classrooms with others around the world. The activities are designed to promote social and emotional skills like respectful communication, cooperation, and critical thinking.
    
2. GoStrengths! https://gostrengths.com/
   GoStrengths! is a social and emotional learning program created using engaging digital animations and is accessible online. It comes both in a structured (10 modules of approximately 25 minutes a week) and unstructured (pick your own animations) format. The programs are designed to help children cultivate skills such as self-awareness, resilience, problem-solving, optimism, character strengths, self-regulation, and goal-setting. Suitable for 4 years and up.
    
3. KidConnect https://www.teachemotionalregulation.com/kidconnect
   KidConnect teaches students the fundamental SEL skills to succeed. It offers tools to teach students how to regulate their emotions and modify their behavior so they can focus on learning. The program integrates into classroom routines so students get to apply SEL skills in real-time, using real-life situations.
    
4. Love in a Big World (LBW) https://loveinabigworld.org/
   LBW offers an SEL program with a curriculum that incorporates 24 essential character traits. The lessons are character-driven and can be integrated easily into existing academic schedules or after-school programs. Suitable for grades K-8.
    
5. Quandary https://quandarygame.org/
   Quandary is a free game for players aged 8 and up which was designed to build a student’s ethical and critical thinking skills. The game presents engaging situations about how to build a new society on the planet Braxos.
   Players must make difficult decisions in which there is no one right answer in the game, just as in real life, but important consequences – to themselves, to others in the community, and to the planet Braxos.
   
   
6. SuperBetter https://www.superbetter.com/
   SuperBetter offers students a fun way to learn self-improvement through its game-based app. Created by a game designer, the app uses the Live Gamefully framework that activates the psychological strengths of gameplay to build resilience and success in real life. Students achieve goals by completing missions that are designed as daily chores and responsibilities such as drinking more water, watching less television, or even not biting their nails! Designed for 8 years and up.
    
7. Teamology https://teamology.team/
   Teamology offers educators a curriculum to help strengthen and simplify emotional wellness in students through a series of cartoon characters linked to a foundational skillset like resilience and problem-solving. The company is also now developing ways to leverage AI to assist students and teachers with social and emotional learning (SEL) in the traditional classroom or in the eLearning setting. Suitable for Grades 3-8.
    
8. The Social Express https://socialexpress.com/
   The Social Express is a research-based animated interactive program that allows students to work through real-life situations to gain social skills.
    
9. More resources from Teach & Learning here.

Parting Thought: Equipping the Educators

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to surface an even greater need for developing resilience, not just in students but among educators as well. School management can play a part to allocate resources for staff training, an area that should not be neglected, as we strive to cope with the changes in learning situations during the pandemic.

Not only are educators forced to upskill themselves very quickly by experimenting with creative ways to increase student engagement in online lessons but educators are also finding themselves having to leave their comfort zones and experimenting with teaching methods they may not have tried before, such as hybrid lessons. Not to mention, coping with the emotional stress of online learning and managing that of their students is another challenge in itself. It appears that educators are not only having to upskill themselves digitally but also equip themselves with social-emotional skills to cope with the trauma brought about by the pandemic.

Here are some resources that are useful for educators:

1. MIT Workforce Learning https://fullsteam.mit.edu/workforce-learning/
   A variety of courses, tools, and research to help equip workers and educators at scale, with the right skills, at the right time, in the right way, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    
2. Resilient Educator https://resilienteducator.com/collections/social-emotional-development-resources/
   The Resilient Educator is a wonderful resource site for educators, packed with toolkits ranging from COVID-19 self-care resources, teacher well-being, social-emotional development, trauma-informed practices, cultivating diversity, equity, and inclusion, down to technology integration in classrooms. The events section also features relevant free webinars from time to time. Keep an eye out for these events.
    
3. The Social Express https://socialexpress.com/professional-development/
   The Social Express has a series of professional development courses to equip educators with foundational social-emotional and related courses to equip them with SEL skills.

References

1. Institute for the Future (2017). The next era of human-machine partnerships. Dell Technologies. https://www.delltechnologies.com/content/dam/delltechnologies/assets/perspectives/2030/pdf/SR1940_IFTFforDellTechnologies_Human-Machine_070517_readerhigh-res.pdf
2. Delors, J. et al. (1996). Learning: the treasure within: report to Unesco of the International Commission on Education for the 21st century. UNESCO.
3. Huong, L. T., & Au, Y. K. (2020, September 24). 21st Century Skills in the time of COVID-19. NORRAG. https://www.norrag.org/21st-century-skills-in-the-time-of-covid-19-by-le-thu-huong-and-yee-ki-au/.
4. ExtendED Notes. (2019, July 15). 5 Digital Tools To Promote Social-Emotional Learning In After School. ExtendED Notes. https://www.extendednotes.com/after-school-articles/5-digital-tools-to-promote-social-emotional-learning-in-after-school.
5. Kapuler, D. (2020, July 17). 15 Sites/Apps for Social-Emotional Learning. TechLearningMagazine. https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/15-sitesapps-for-social-emotional-learning.